"Groundhog Day"
I probably slept in longer than I should have but the comfy bed at The Lodge was too much to resist. I finally got loaded and headed down the road by 9:30, destination was Trinidad Colorado by noon. The ride was awesome as the sun was warm and the roads were curvy. Headed through La Veta Pass, around Trinchera Peak, through Monument Park and back over the Spanish Peaks before hitting Trinidad. Gassed up and grabbed a bite, I set the GPS for Dodge City Kansas and the local RV park.
Unfortunately, some weird hole in the atmosphere or interference in the time continuum through me directly into LAST WEEK!!! As soon as I left Trinidad, the land turned flat and wind started blowing from the southwest at 20, then 30 and by time I cross into Kansas, it’s blasting straight across the road at over 40 MPH!!! I have to crawl along to keep from crashing. I finally get to Springfield KS (the literal middle of nowhere) and fill up at the local truck stop. Still 2 more hours to Dodge City and it’s already late. I take a quick look at the map and guess what??? I’m only 1 hour from Elkhart KS and my favorite café in the whole world, the Wildcat Café!
I changed the GPS coordinates and made tracks for Elkhart. About halfway there, after riding at 35mph on pavement, the road turns to GRAVEL!!!! My major nemesis on this trip and this time it’s loose, deep and on top of hard packed dirt. I equate it to trying to ride your bike across a hardwood floor covered with marbles!! Both front and rear tires are sliding around like I’m on ice. Several times I have to stop to keep the wind from blowing me clear off the road, cause once it starts moving one direction, you can’t correct it or you’ll just go down. I finally creep alone at 25mph just to keep from wrecking.
Finally, I see Elkhart’s grain elevators in the distance! I’m almost there!!! I pull into the motel across the street from the Wildcat and get a room. Grab a shower and had one of my Backcountry Pantry dinners. Feeling like I need desert, I walk across the street to the grocery store for Marie Callender’s individual chocolate cream pie…WINNING!
Hitting the hay early so I can get up, have a great breakfast at the Wildcat and head out before the winds gets crazy. Geee, tomorrow’s a holiday. I hope the café is open!!?? :O
Cheers
Bradley
